The problem with lipstick is that it doesn’t really stick. All it takes is a cup of coffee and that beautiful burgundy you carefully applied is erased.

 Lip stains have been around for a while, but they’re enjoying a resurgance in some of the most popular make-up lines, primarily because lips (and cheeks) really do absorb the stain, and the tint lasts longer. It eventually wears away, but not as quickly as lipstick.

One of the early popular stains is Benetint by Benefit ($28). The rose-colored liquid in a bottle is a sheer tint for lips and cheeks. Benefit also has a lip balm stain ($20) that’s thicker, and a convenient Benetint Pocket Pal ($20, pictured) that has a double-wand approach with lip stain on one end and a thick clear gloss on the other.

Laura Mercier has a stain that comes in six shades that is also a little thicker in texture (like a gloss), for $20. Stila has two types of stain, both in a pen-like form: the cherry crush or the lip rouge, which looks and feels like a magic marker ($20, above right).

Then there are lots of other stain-makers: DuWop (which also is a lip plumper), Tarte (also a plumper, above left), TheBalm’s Stainiac in three shades, Laura Geller, DKNY, Vincent Longo, Nars and more.

A word of warning: be careful with the stains that are in liquid form. They, well, will stain - more than just your lips.